


Out of the blue

by Taaya



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Children, Injury, M/M, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn, Sperm Donation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-11-19 20:25:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11321070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taaya/pseuds/Taaya
Summary: After a banquet Jim and Spock wake up as fathers of two children and have to struggle with their new responsibility.





	1. Banquet

**Author's Note:**

> So this idea came out of the blue. I don't have much points of the story plotted by now. Let's see how it'll work out.

“So we have an agreement? A trading contract and you apply for membership in the Federation?” Jim smiled openly at the President of Arratus while the tall dark man smiled back at him and shook his hand. 

“We do, Captain, we do. And I have to admit that I am looking forward of seeing more humans around here in the future. You are quite entertaining. I would like to hear more about your missions. They are even more exciting than most of our fictional works. Will you be able to stay for the night? My servants are already planning a banquet to celebrate our contract.” 

Jim nodded. He was looking forward to an evening of good food and conversation. “The bargaining was over earlier than expected so we have no orders now. We would love to stay for one or two days, actually. My crew could use a day of shore leave.” 

The President smiled. “It would be my pleasure to arrange lodging, food and entertainment for everybody who’d want to come down to Arratus.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so in the evening most crew members were on the surface and only a skeleton crew was up on board with the promise that they could spent the next day on shore leave. 

Jim and Spock as official representatives of the Federation attended the banquet while the other Enterprise personnel preferred to spend their time in clubs, bars or spa facilities. So they were all alone to entertain their hosts with stories. 

President Bijga enjoyed himself, eyes always fixed on the two officers as if fearing he might miss something. “It seems you two complement each other. The brilliant mind and the perfect instinct - though I doubt that your mind is less than brilliant either, Captain. You two together might make the perfect man.” 

Jim shrugged. “Possibly. But I do prefer to have Spock at my side instead of having his mind. It is always better to have somebody to give you a different perspective on things.” 

Bijga nodded, now deep in thought. “You might be right.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That night after way too many drinks Jim lay in his hotel bed. He did not know when he fell asleep, but he awoke suddenly, feeling utterly spent in every way. He had had a strange dream of a faceless somebody entering his room, pulling off his clothes and taking him into hand and when he looked down on himself he actually was naked. Had he stripped before going to bed? He could not remember, but did not read too much into it. He was not exactly new to having wet dreams. 

But when he met Spock in the morning the Vulcan seemed distressed. “Captain, I … I usually do not dream. But last night … “ He blushed, or at least so Jim thought as he had never seen Spock’s cheeks get green. 

“I dreamt of an encounter of ...erotic kind. I already contacted Doctor McCoy and had him examine me, but I do not show any sign of Pon Farr. Therefore I am … uneasy.” 

Jim rubbed his chin in thought. “I had a rather ... private dream myself.” It was not exactly easy to tell Spock about it, but it was probably the best idea. “Somebody … came into my room and … gave me what humans would call a hand job.” 

Spock nodded, obviously feeling awkward. “I dreamt the same. And when I awoke I was undressed, although I remember going to bed in my underwear. Therefore I assume that we did not dream these incidents, but they were real.” 

“You mean somebody actually came to us and … made us come?” He felt used. And disappointed. It had been quite long since he last had somebody in his bed. He would have preferred to at least experience it with a conscious mind. Still … he would have liked to be asked. And Spock … 

“How do you feel?”, the Captain asked. His voice showed how much he was concerned. His friend did not exactly seem like a sexual being and had never shown interest in anyone when he was not influenced by external factors or fever. Jim was not even sure if Spock ever had sex before. 

“I … am Vulcan. I can bear the situation. But I would have preferred not to have to bear it”, his First Officer answered and the Captain knew that Spock was understating his feelings. He put a hand on the shoulder and slightly patted the Vulcan sympathetically. 

At this moment Bijga entered the room, his smile even brighter than ever before. “We did it. Your genetic material fit together perfectly and we might have created the perfect man. Or woman. We made twins.” 

“I beg you pardon?” Jim stared at the man. “You … Hold on. Did you steal our …. our semen?” 

“Steal? You mean … Oh. I thought you knew. In our society it is common that high ranking members of society donate their genes as often as possible. Both for scientific and reproductional purposes. I myself have 262 children, only 30 of them with my wifes. The others are genetically modified.” Now the President looked worried. “I thought you … I am so sorry. You did not … Well, we … we have a law that the donators can decide what happens to their offspring. By now your children are only little piles of cells, though growing at accelerated speed. But we could destroy them, if you wish?” 

“No.” Spock and Jim answered simultaneously, Jim with panic in his voice, Spock ever so calm. 

“Or you could have them? Donators have the right to raise the products of their donations. We would give you the incubators.” The President looked more worried by the second, obviously fearing a major diplomatic problem. 

Jim and Spock exchanged glances. “I always thought once I get children I am married and back on the farm in Iowa but … could be worse, couldn’t it? At least I trust you and you’re not just a girl I meet on a Starbase, never to see her again”, the Captain sighed. 

Spock arched a brow. “No, I am not a girl. Do I understand correctly that you wish to raise our children? Will you allow me to do the same, as equals?” 

“Of course, Spock. I mean you live next door, you’re my best friend and right hand. Raising our children together should be easy, right?” 

Bijga sighed with relief. “Then I will transfer your son and daughter to your ship immediately.”


	2. Roommates

McCoy and Nurse Chapel had accepted the two incubators in the transporter room. “Unbelievable technology”, the Doctor exclaimed. “That’s not an artificial womb, it’s actually a real incubator, all see-through and … technical. Completely outside of any human body. This could be the next big step for mankind. Especially when you think about those two being the kids of not a man and a woman but two men. All those gay couples on earth could finally have children of their own with both of their genes. I hope the Arratian will give us the technology and knowledge once their application to the Federation has been accepted.” He was positively glowing. Although he always thought of himself as an old country Doctor he was always interested in new methods and new developments, having invented quite a few things himself. 

Chapel only pressed her lips into a thin line and McCoy frowned. Of course. The poor woman had always hoped Spock would finally fall in love with her. That the Vulcan was now a father of twins made it probably even more complicated. But he did not believe that Spock would ever fall for the blonde. He had never shown any interest in women besides his ex-fiancee, so who knew if that guy had any sexuality at all? And he had turned Christine down so many times now, that the woman should finally understand it as well. 

They brought the incubators into sick bay to be visited by Jim soon. Only seconds later Spock entered the room as well and both could see their children for the first time. McCoy was just checking their vital signs. “Unbelievable”, he muttered, not for the first time. “Not 24 hours old and their already grown into 3 month old fetuses. They even have little ears by now. In two days they’ll be ready to hatch.” 

Jim stepped closer, opening his mouth, closing it again and reopening it before he finally found his voice chords. “They have tiny pointy ears. Come look at them, Spock. They’re gorgeous.” 

Spock was still unsure how to feel about the situation. He had given up on not feeling anything as this was overwhelming in more than one way. But was he supposed to be happy? Angry? Anxious? Within seconds he was at his Captain’s side, looking down on his children. They had in fact already the distinct ears of Vulcan ancestry. A fact that made his heart flutter for a moment. “Vulcan genes are dominant”, he just explained before stepping back again. “Captain, if the-” 

“Jim”, the human interrupted. “Spock, we have children now. We two are … a family if we like it or not. Could you finally call me Jim now?” 

“Of all the crew members I am the least averse to having a family with you, C …. Jim”, Spock said calmly. “But there is much to discuss. If the children are to be released from the incubators in two days, we have a lot to do. They need names, clothes, cribs and a lot of other things. As fascinating as I find it to watch them grow or admire their looks, as good parents we should be ready for them to be ‘born’.” 

Jim sighed, laying one hand on each of the machines as if he was about to caress his little ones. “You’re right, of course. It’s just … They are so cute. I could stand here all day and watch them.” It took all the strength he could find to move away and, looking back over his shoulder, he crashed into Spock. “Oh, sorry.” 

Firm hands held him and released him only when the Vulcan was absolutely sure that Jim had found his balance again. “It is of no consequence. Come. It is best to talk about our preparations where the children can not distract you.” 

Jim grinned sheepishly and followed his friend out of sick bay, not without waving towards his children first. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They entered the Captain’s quarters and Jim sat down on the bed. “Okay, good, you’re right. We should … They need a room. And one of us should be close, preferably next door, if they wake up. So … One of us has to move. I mean, on both the other sides of our quarters is a corridor each, so ... “ He sighed. He had always loved living next to Spock. He had loved only stepping through the bathroom if he wanted a late game of chess if he could not sleep. They would still be on the same ship, sure, but he did not want Spock to move. Or himself for that matter. But there were no cabins free that were big enough for a man and his two children either, with another cabin next door for the second father. Except for the guest’s quarters and they were needed. In two weeks they had to bring a few diplomats from one planet to another, so those rooms were not an option either. 

“I do not wish to be separated from my children”, Spock said and it sounded almost pleading - for a Vulcan, at least. 

“Neither would I want to move away. But do you know any quarters that we could move to, so that we’ll have our kids with us? Together?”, Jim asked and then frowned. “Or maybe … I don’t know. I’ve always been good at having roommates. I loved it back in Academy. We don’t have that much space, sure, but I bet we could get your bed in here. And if we share a desk instead of using two, your meditation area could be included as well?” 

Spock thought for a moment. He had always valued his privacy. But Jim had been a part of it most of the times. He had probably spent more time with Jim in his quarters than without him. So he nodded. “That would be an acceptable solution. And this way our children will have a lot of space to play and learn in.” 

“So you’ll move in with me?” 

“Affirmative.” 

Jim beamed at his First Officer. It would be perfect. They’d be like a real family, all living together.


	3. Newborns

Scotty had created a masterpiece. He had taken all the once broken parts of the Enterprise that they had never used but still carried along to be molten into something new in the next space dock, and tinkered two cribs out of them that were now standing in Spock’s old room. Still there was heavy red cloth on the wall, making the room look even warmer than it felt and Jim had fought for it to remain where it was. Their children should at least have something that could remind them of one of their homeworlds. 

And finally the day had come. Each man carried a newly born child in their arms. Jim held Samuel, named after his dead brother they had buried not long ago, while the girl in Spock’s arm still had no name. “You can choose, Spock. It’s only fair. She looks a lot more Vulcan than Sam here and … well, we have two children and two fathers”, the Captain said with a smile, poking his sons nose lightly. He made little squeaking noises he found just adorable. “So each of us can name one of them.” 

“The names of Vulcan females usually begin with a T or V. But I would like to choose a name that does not sound too unearthly as she is more human than Vulcan and might choose to live according to the majority of her genes”, Spock explained his hesitation to pick a name. “I would … suggest V’Rina. If that would be acceptable?” 

“Sure.” Jim had not planned to object to any name, no matter how foreign it would sound, as long as he would be able to say it without getting a knot in his tongue. A Vulcan version of Verena was not even problematic to pronounce so he would certainly not argue against it. He leaned in a bit and smiled at his daughter. “Hello little one. You’re V’Rina now. Daddy chose a great name, didn’t he? Yes, he did.” 

Spock showed no reaction to his Captain’s futile try to engage V’Rina into a conversation. “Jim, I do believe it would be best if you were ‘Daddy’. I myself have never called my father anything similar. I would prefer to be ‘Father’. May I further suggest that both children will carry your surname? Mine is not made for human tongues.” 

The Captain blinked for a few seconds. “Right, I never asked. You have a second name? What is it?” 

“S’chn T’gai”, the Vulcan replied. “Therefore calling me Mr. Spock is as if I would call you Mr. Jim. But I do not mind given the fact that you would not be able to use my family name.” 

Jim still looked a little gobsmacked, but nodded. “Well, in that case they should be Kirks, yes. Thank you for offering.” In his mind a voice objected that it was not fair to Spock. Three members of his little family were called Kirk now and he was not. It felt as if he was excluding his best friend. But what was he supposed to do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days had gone buy in a haze of joy, fatigue and body fluids on almost everything they owned as it took a while to perfect the ingredients of their formula, causing the babies to vomit or get diarrhea. In fact V’Rina needed a different one than her brother as Sam had gotten a lot of Spock’s human genes as well as Jims. Only his ears showed that he was not fully human. But finally they had made it and after some hours of cleaning the room stopped smelling like sour milk. 

After a week of being a father, Jim was still in love with his adorable two bundles of joy, but also too tired to function, so Spock had to carry him to bed. Sam had not stopped crying for four hours now and after a long shift and even longer hours of paperwork it had wrecked the Captain to not be able to make his son be quiet.

“You know, we two created pure perfection with those two”, Jim mumbled sleepily. “But I would give them all the credits I own if only they would let me for one night. Just one night.” He snuggled up to Spock’s chest just as the Vulcan was laying him down on the bed. 

“I will take care of them tonight. You need to rest”, Spock replied, almost too quiet to hear and tucked his Captain in, after extricating himself out of Jim’s grip. Once he was sure the human was fast asleep, he lightly patted the golden hair. Then he frowned and stepped away. Unable to explain his own actions he almost fled out of the room and to his two children who were sleeping as tightly as their daddy was.


	4. Attack

Life went on, although they had to make compromises. Jim worked during alpha shift and took care of the children when Spock was on the bridge during beta shift. They both slept during gamma and whenever the kids were quiet. And whenever Spock wanted to meditate, Jim was with his children, taking them for a walk, so that the Vulcan would not hear them cry if they got hungry. 

It worked well, even though they had close to no time for their hobbies. And sometimes it was even fun. Jim loved to see Spock with V’Rina and Sam. He never had gotten along well with children, but with his own the Vulcan was a natural. By now the kids did not do much but sleep, eat, cry and digest, but Spock sang for them and read them stories, both of Earth and of Vulcan. 

So Jim was in a good mood most of the time, tired, but happy. When an unknown ship closed in, he did not react quickly enough but talked with Uhura about lullabies. It was only when the ship opened fire and the Enterprise was taken by surprise, some panels exploding, he realized his mistake.   
“Fire back, Mr. Sulu”, he ordered, a little too loud. A little too panicking. There were damage reports of all decks, even of the section where his quarter was.   
“Don’t destroy them, I wanna know why they …” It was too late. The ship already exploded. “Scan for survivors and beam them up. I want security to watch them and Sick Bay to treat them, if necessary. Call me, if there is another ship coming and keep the shields up. Sulu, you have the conn.” 

It had been hard to stay calm enough to give orders, but the moment it was done, he ran to the turbo lift and cursed about how slow it went. He ran like never before, jumping over injured crewmen on the floor to get to his kids. 

He came to a crashing halt when he saw Spock, both children in his arms, quietly sleeping. “Are you okay?”, he asked, feeling his heart beat painfully against his rib cage. 

“They did not even wake up”, Spock told him. “They are perfectly fine.” 

“Spock, we …. I thought this would work, but it doesn’t. It was my mistake. I was distracted. Without you by my side on the bridge, I am not the Captain I could be. I need you.” He took V’Rina from Spock’s arm and held her close to his chest. “I wonder if a starship is the right place for children to grow up. They could have died. And we have our duty. Maybe we should sent them to your parents? Or to my mum and Peter? But I grew up with my parents off planet most of the time. I hated it. I thought they would not love me. I don’t want our two little cuties to think of us the same way.” He sighed deeply and buried his head in his hands. He did not cry, wasn’t even close to crying. He simply felt helpless, tired and undecided. 

His First Officer came closer. “Jim, though it might not be the best place to raise our children, I do believe that keeping them with us is the most logical choice. If they lived with my or your family it were possible not to see them again until the end of our mission. I do not wish to miss three years of my children’s development. We could resign, but that would make you unhappy. You will always need the stars. And I would feel useless myself. That would not be good for our children either. But I do admit that we have to change something. I would suggest an aide. When I had to travel with my parents, whenever they had to attend a diplomatic function they left me with what my mother called a nanny. We might reassign personnel to act as such. I do have the right to choose a steward which I never used. I am willing to have a steward care for our children during our shift so that we can both be on the bridge at the same time.” 

Jim had listened carefully. Now he stood up and gave Spock a short hug with his free hand. It felt strange, but still necessary. “You’re the best father I could hope for, do you know that?”, he asked. “I’m really glad I have you. And thanks for talking me out of sending them away. I don’t want to be without those two either.” His golden eyes smiled softly at Spock until the intercom beeped.   
“Captain? We have two survivors. They are awaiting interrogation in Sick Bay.” 

“Gotta go, Spock. Can you find somebody to watch for them quickly and join me in Sick Bay?” When Spock nodded, Jim hurried away.


	5. Shore leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Or: The one in which Jim is an idiot ;)

It had taken an awfully lot of diplomatic meetings to assure that they would not be attacked again. Some formerly unknown alien race had claimed the territory for themselves and attacked anyone who came too close, but after a few signed treaties and some signs of goodwill on both sides the Federation ended up with having a permanent permission to fly through the region and survey everything they might find interesting as long as they did not steal resources. 

It was a huge success, at least the admiralty said that. But the Enterprise crew had grown weary and finally they were allowed another shore leave. They had been ordered back to the next Federation station so that engineers there could work on a few bits of the Enterprise computer while the crew could spent their time as they wished. 

Jim looked forward to it. He had not been laid for quite a while and was growing restless. Since he and Spock became roommates he had not even dared to touch himself, so he really hoped that tonight he might find a nice lady to keep him warm.

Spock said the same thing as every time Jim asked him to take shore leave as well. That Vulcans were different than humans and did not need ‘fun’ to relax. That he would spend the time in meditation as long as the children were sleeping. That he did not want to join Jim and McCoy in the pub they planned to visit, but wished Jim a successful evening. 

So the two men went without him. First most of the bridge crew was there. Uhura had chosen to go to a concert instead but Chekov and Sulu were drinking White Russians while Scotty drank Scotch with a local engineer, discussing some technical drawings. But as the evening turned into night and Bones had gone with a nice dark beauty only Jim was left and he had already had a lot of drinks when a tall blonde sat down beside him. She looked stunning and they drank and danced and laughed more than he had done in a long while. In the end he did not even recalled what he said to her to make her come with him. Probably something about being a starship captain as she begged him to show her the ship. 

And so he did. Instead of taking a room on the station he took her onto the Enterprise and showed her around, only to end up snogging her in front of his door. When the automatic entryway opened, he stumbled into the room, never letting go of her, while she tried to pull down his clothes without breaking the kiss. 

Only when Spock stood up and cleared his throat, his daughter in one and a bottle in the other hand, they finally stopped, eyes wide open and staring at the tall man. “Shit, I forgot”, Jim said and let his fingers comb his hair in an action of nervousness. What was he supposed to do? “Spock, would you mind sleeping next door tonight?” 

Before the Vulcan could answer, the woman asked in a hysterically sounding voice: “Who is this?” 

“Oh, this is Spock. The my First Officer and father of my children”, Jim answered with a shrug and cursed under his breath when the blonde turned on her heels and ran back towards the transporter room, clearly no longer interested in his pants and what was underneath. He sighed heavily. “Damn, that was the first one in months and I really wanted to …” 

But Spock was already gone, without a word.


	6. Avoidance

For many days Jim had not seen Spock at all, besides their shared shift on the bridge. And even then the Vulcan excused himself most of the time to ‘finish some experiments in the labs’ as he said. He cared for their children, yes. But whenever Jim entered their cabin or the nursery to find his friend there, Spock would quickly leave without saying a word. So usually Jim tried to find out where Spock was, before entering a room, so that he would not cause the Vulcan to flee. He began to sleep in one of the private rooms of Sick Bay on occasion.

Jim knew he had screwed things up. Badly, as it seemed. He just didn’t know what he had done that could have hurt or angered Spock that badly that he did not choose to talk about it. Or to talk at all. 

But it seemed to have an impact on the children’s wellbeing. V’Rina was fine. She already began to be like her father, all stoic and controlled. Although Jim was pretty sure that she did not actually control her emotions as she must have been way to young to do so, she had a calm character. She made some noise when her diapers needed a change or when she was hungry, but apart from that she was content with watching her surroundings. But Sam had become difficult since his parents stopped talking to each other. He was always crying when Jim was around, never stopping, never sleeping. But Jim could have sworn that he had seen the little boy sleep peacefully in Spock’s arms when he once entered the room. It was as if Spock had manipulated Sam into tormenting his daddy. Or maybe the little guy was just sensitive when it came to Jim’s turmoiled state of mind?

Whatever it was, it had to end. All this mess had to end! Jim felt so exhausted and he could not stand this any longer. He searched for something, anything, to keep his mind from wandering to Spock, from wondering what he had done wrong. So when Scotty asked him if he wanted to see this new improvement he had just invented, he said yes. Of course. He had always loved knowing every corner of his ship as thoroughly as possible without being an engineer himself. 

He had made his way down to engineering and stood next to the Scot who kept explaining how this new bit of technical tinkering could improve their warp drive to flying warp 0,01 faster than before. It did not sound like much, sure, but the Enterprise already was the fastest ship in all Federation space so this was actually a big step. “We’ll go down in history for this”, the chief engineer promised. But when Scotty pushed the little device into the circuit where it was supposed to fit in, a flash lightened the room and hit the Captain. 

Suddenly everything was white, and white quickly faded into black when he hit the floor. 

The next time his eyes saw something, Jim seemed to be surrounded by white once more, but it was only the light in Sick Bay, trying to burn out his eyes. At least it felt that way and he moaned in pain. But then something else came into view. Two blue shapes, both of them too big to be Nurse Chapel. So … “Spock?” Had the Vulcan waited by his bedside?

While one of the blue beings held something buzzing next to his head, the other seemed to flinch and move away quickly, but Jim would not have any of this shit. “I order you to stay”, Jim said in the best command voice he could fabricate at this moment and the blue somebody came back to the biobed. “It’s time we talk.”


	7. Patchwork

His vision began to clear and he saw Spock standing next to him with a face as aloof as it could get. 

“Come on, grab a chair and sit down”, Jim said, but at a closer look at the room he could see no chair. Neither did Spock, obviously, as he looked at Jim with an arched brow. “Okay, then just sit down next to me. I don’t bite, you know?” He skidded a bit, so that there was enough space for Spock to sit or even lie down, without touching him.   
Reluctantly the Vulcan sat down. 

“So, tell me, what’s the matter? You’ve been avoiding me. And even the kids have noticed it. Did I do anything?” 

Spock closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Jim, are you looking for a mother for our children?”, he asked, almost inaudibly quiet. 

“What? No. How did you ….” Then it hit Jim and he shook his head almost violently. “No. God, Spock, that was just … I’m just a man, you know? And I was drunk, otherwise I would not have taken her to my quarters. I usually take a room when I find a girl on shore leave. I’m sorry. Really. I never wanted you to see me behave like … like a hormonal teenager. But actually that’s what humans are. That just … They are our children. If I ever were to marry a woman and bring her into our family, I would talk to you first. As I hope you do, once … well … “ He did not finish the sentence, but the words pon farr hang in the air, unsaid but obvious. 

“You said … we were a family, Jim. Vulcans do not form something like earth patchwork families.” Now it was hard to hear Spock, no matter how close Jim was. 

The human just stared at the Vulcan and pressed his lips together so they almost disappeared in a thin line. 

When Jim did not answer, Spock got up. “If you would excuse me? With you being incapacitated, I should be on the bridge. Please do get well soon, our children need you.” 

Then he was gone once again, though this time it did not seem as if Spock fled. But he did not seem willing to stay either. And Jim could have sworn that his best friend looked greener than ever.   
With a sigh he pulled the pillow out from under his head and pressed it into his own face as if to muffle a scream. He did not make any sound besides a frustrated groan though. Vulcans! Somehow he was sure that a human being would never be able to fully understand them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess we get closer to the finish line. If Jim doesn't understand quickly, Spock will go mad. And so will I :D


	8. Sleeping arrangements

Things had gone back to normal more or less. They spent time together, cared for their children like normal parents and shared the quarters. 

Still Jim felt … strange. Spock's words kept crossing his mind over and over again and he could not understand what the Vulcan had wanted to say or what he himself could do. 

He did not even know how to ask for it, or if Spock would talk about this issue that Jim still felt standing between them. 

But he had to, Jim told himself after he came back to their rooms after a late dinner with Bones in the mess hall. If Spock was home, he would ask him for a game of chess and then try to approach the subject. Yes, that was a good plan.

But when he entered the room, he found Spock in bed. Not asleep, but with the children. And it wasn't even only his own bed, but he had pushed both beds close to each other, filling the thin gap between the mattresses with a blanket so that now there was only one huge bed in which he lay, cuddling with the babies.

When he heard Jim, Spock looked up. “I apologize, but Samuel seemed to have stomach ache and he would not calm down without my proximity. But I worried he might fall off the bed. If you mind, I will try holding him close to my chest on my own bed and lay V’Rina back down in her crib.”

“Nah, I don't mind. I mean, they're mine, too. I’d like to share a bed with them once in a while, too. I think that's a good idea, actually.” Jim smiled, though it was faked a bit. Sleeping in one bed with his First Officer seemed odd. 

Still he stripped down to his underwear and climbed into bed, crawling close to his daughter. He would have wanted to comfort Sam, but if the little boy’s stomach hurt, Spock and his inhumanly warm hands were the better choice. A living hot water bottle, this Vulcan. Once again a reason why Jim was glad that Spock was the father of his children. 

“Nightynight, family”, Jim said, kissing both children on the forehead. Then he found himself kissing the top of Spock's head as well. He stared at the Vulcan for a second, not quite understanding what he had just done. 

Spock just looked back with the same stoic face as ever. “Sleep well, Jim”, he answered and closed his eyes slowly, not opening them again until the first child awoke at night.


	9. Bedtime

They had not changed their interior back to the former state of having to separate beds and Jim got used to sleeping close to Spock. Sometimes the children were with them, sometimes they slept alone. But every so often Jim found himself either cuddled up to Spock or half in the Vulcan in the morning. 

What had been embarrassing at first slowly became a habit and Spock would even pull Jim close in the evening. “This way you will not end up with your neck in a dangerous angle once again”, he argued and reminded Jim of the one morning when he woke up with his head on Spock’s chest in an angle that made his neck hurt so bad that he needed not only a hypo full of painkillers but also a massage by Yeoman Barrows. At the evening after this event Spock had seemed tense and since then he had always taken care of Jim’s sleeping position. 

This night Jim dreamt. The most fantastic dream with two Orion girls dancing for him, touching him, kissing him. He pulled them close and enjoyed their embrace, but they turned into Spock. Dream Jim just shrugged and kept on, pinned his friend to a wall, kissing him, only to have real Jim wake up smiling, his lips on Spock’s and he himself sporting a rather impressive erection. Had he been rubbing himself against his friend? 

“Damn.” 

“Good morning, Captain. I assume you slept well?” Jim could have sworn that Spock sounded amused. Well, at least he was not offended.

“Yeah. Well. I … whatever. Look, Spock, I am sorry. This hormonal teenager thing once again. Maybe I should have tried to use shore leave once again after that … incident. But I haven't and with you being here I …”

“You wish me to leave?”

“Hell no! I’m just saying that I would not dare doing anything in here that you might find disgusting and … I guess I should take a cold shower.” It was a pity that he had to get up. Spock was actually quite comfortable and so warm. 

“Jim?”

“Yeah.”

“If I may ask, what exactly do you look for on shore leave?” 

It was Jim's time to arch a brow when he looked at Spock now. “Well, actually … I’m only looking for someone to get laid. I know being a father means I should be a role model. Only searching for the one and only, preferably their mother, so that they can grow up in a loving family and learn about trust and love among partners by watching their parents. But …” He shrugged.

“But?” Spock would obviously not let him drop the subject.

“Well, you said Vulcans don't do patchwork families. So it's either you or meaningless sex until I die, isn't it? It's not so bad. I’ve been a pro at meaningless sex for all my adult life. It's hard to fall in love if you're not allowed to shag with someone who's too much below you or to high above you in rank. Shore leave isn't exactly long enough for it either. So … Look, can we drop the subject? It's starting to hurt and I really need that cold shower.”

Spock nodded in thought and spoke up just when Jim was about to turn to the bathroom . “I see. And as I am a man, I cannot provide you with the loving partner you would want.” 

“It's more about you being a Vulcan and my best friend and clearly not interested in men.”

“What exactly led you to such a conclusion? Jim, I am your best friend and you are mine. But I thought I would have made myself clear. I do not wish to form a patchwork family. But I do have to bond in a few years time.” He looked at his Captain patiently, waiting for the human mind to process the meaning.

“Oh.”

“Indeed.”

“Oh!”

“You have engaged in intercourse with my leg and my backside five times without waking up or completion by now. Believe me, if I would mind, I would have spoken up.”

Jim laughed, although it sounded strained to his own ears. It was still embarrassing. But at the same time? “Gosh, we slipped into being a couple without me noticing it”, he said and thought for a moment, a smile forming on his face. “Could be worse, though. I already love you as my friend and my kid's father. More than I ever loved a woman. Why not … Well, Mr. Spock, I wonder if you would mind taking of your clothes?”

Spock actually smirked. “I thought you would never ask.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jim's still an idiot somehow. :D 
> 
> I should write an epilogue, I know. What's happening to the children and so on. Just right now ... I'm kinda slow on writing. Just finished my novel and I feel spent. So I can't promise anything.


End file.
